What cognitive bias leads individuals to overestimate the influence of personality factors?

The correct answer is fundamental attribution error. This cognitive bias refers to the tendency for individuals to place excessive emphasis on personality traits when interpreting others' behavior, often overlooking situational or contextual factors that may also play a significant role.

For instance, if someone fails a test, a person committing this error might attribute the failure solely to that individual’s lack of intelligence or effort, rather than considering external factors such as stress, illness, or the difficulty of the test itself. This bias highlights a common misconception in social psychology where dispositional (personality) explanations are favored over situational explanations.

In the context of understanding human behavior, recognizing the fundamental attribution error can lead to more nuanced social interactions and improved empathetic responses. This bias is central to many discussions in psychology regarding how we interpret behavior and the implications it has for social relationships and judgments.